Country to Capital is a 45 miles race from Wendover in
Buckinghamshire to Little Venice in central London. I was extremely anxious before the event, not
knowing if I could or if I should. But I
wanted to give it a go.
My objectives for the race were quite simple. Be on the start line and run as far as I
could. How far I could actually run was
a huge unknown as the furthest that I have run non-stop since July 2013 was 20
miles.
I have run several races prior to 2013 where I refused to
quit and suffered the consequences. I have also quit races and suffered the
consequences. I have learned the
difference the hard way and was determined to use my experience to make the
right decision for me.
how do I work this watch....? |
The “stop if it hurts” philosophy doesn’t apply to my
ankle. If it did I would not get out of
bed in the morning, but I do know when too much pain is dangerous.
Off to London we did go |
I started slowly and at a pace that felt uncomfortably
slow. I was forced to walk up some of
the little hills due to congestion and that I am ashamed to say I found very
frustrated. All the hills were runnable
but the people around me chose to walk.
The route was very busy and there were runners all around me. I overtook them on the hills and then they
caught up on the flat sections.
Local entertainment for the supporters |
The temptation to agree to demon dudes demands was rather
strong, especially as I kept on seeing Ian and the dogs as he supported me in
exemplary fashion along the route. I had
already spotted that Ian had purchased a little mini keg of beer from a local
brewery while driving between check points – yes, he really is that good!
From the M25 to Little Venice it felt like I was flying. The demon dude left my mind and the little angel appeared and gave me my wings. I changed my shoes just before I reached the canal tow path - I needed the cushioning of my favourite road shoes to reduce the pain. One of the hardest parts of the race was changing my shoes as my hands were so cold courtesy of the conditions and then I forgot my gloves!
The shoe change and sudden focus on the race produced a huge improvement in my running performance. From running 6-9 minutes per kilometre I found myself running just under 6 minutes per kilometre.
I had a little wobble at the 26 mile point when I threw all my toys out of the pram and just stood by the side of the path fiddling with my mobile phone. Thankfully my toddler tantrum was short lived and I started running again. The pain was a little bit uncomfortable at this point, but inspired my most favourite person’s saying “the pain is no less the slower you run”, I tried to run as quickly as my legs would allow me.
My most favourite person also made me wear a Garmin for the duration of this event. It had the course on it so that I did not get lost and it also recorded my run, from start to finish.
I ran most of the first half just under 10 minute miles
pace, the canal tow path at 8:30 minute miles and then finished the last ¼ mile just over 6 minute mile pace. Now that’s a progressive run!
But more importantly than any statistics, after all that has
happened in the past 4 years and successfully finishing this event I now believe
that I am still an ultra-runner and my best performance ever as an ultra-runner
is yet to come.
My fuel for the race was water, Clif Shot Bloks, Clif Bar, honey
and fruit pancakes, plus some of the wonderful cake that Go Beyond serves at
their fabulous check points.
Thanks to Ian B-B for the photos and never ending support